Memphis: Get Excited About Ikea

I love shopping locally and supporting local businesses, but I’m also excited about IKEA choosing Memphis to open a new store. This gives the River City a new customer base to enthrall with our locally owned restaurants, music venues, boutiques and more. IKEA is a vehicle to get new people into our city as a destination drawing from a 200-mile radius and beyond. IKEA-bound visitors will travel here mid-week and on weekends, and we get a chance to show off how fabulous Memphis is!

Now, what about the actual shopping experience at IKEA? It fills a need, and they make shopping easy. Because the shipping is absurdly expensive, it’s even more reason why so many will shop HERE and not online. This is an example of a company where shopping online simply makes far less sense than taking the time to drive to your nearest location, even if that location is four hours away.

So, what am I most excited about? Well, I’m past the toddler-age children, but they would have loved the free IKEA childcare option instead of suffering through the shopping experience. I tend to opt out of offerings like that during flu season, which is now until April, but the option is there, just FYI. And how smart of IKEA to offer it?! Drop your kids off and shop leisurely … blissdom.

Potty-trained children between 39 and 54 inches tall can be dropped off for free at IKEA’s in-store daycare while Mom gets her shop on! Image credit: IKEA.com

I’m super-excited to check out the shelving as Home Depot does not always do it for me. Here are some fabulous IKEA shelving examples:

For small spaces where lots of storage is needed, IKEA is known to have great options. This bed/desk storage unit is perfect for kids. $399 | Image credit: IKEA.com

The ALGOT shelves are able to be modified in countless ways. This shows a great laundry set up with drying racks. Measure your space, and there is an ALGOT unit that will work for you. $132 | Image credit: IKEA.com

And for college-age kids, the huge framed art selection is pretty fab:

This framed poster is another biggie at 55-by-39 inches and $49.99. Image credit: IKEA.com

Not framed, but super-fun. This “rush hour” poster measures in at 27-by-39 inches and is just $12. Image credit: IKEA.com

Their modern furniture can add some pizzazz to any room. I really like these examples:

What a fun room! See those mirrors along the wall? Just $8.99 for a four-pack. Image credit: IKEA.com

This storage unit fits nicely in a modern living room as is only $217. Image credit: IKEA.com

This occasional table would fit a variety of decors (remember, you will have to put it together yourself!) and is just $199. Image credit: IKEA.com

So, Memphis, get excited! Our city already draws tourists, and these IKEA tourists will be here with one big purpose: to shop. Once they are done, it is our job to make sure that our local stores and restaurants feel the love as well. You know StyleBlueprint will be doing our part as we are about to launch our SB Guide app, which allows for easy navigation of local businesses, features the best of the best, and is filled with beautiful photography plus insider tips. We are confident our SB regional readers will access great advice on where to go and what to do with our SB Guide app. As a result, they will experience so much more than “just” IKEA. But, we’ll use IKEA as a big carrot to get them here.